AMES, Iowa – Need an incentive to lace up your shoes and go for a run? A new Iowa State University study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found running for just five or 10 minutes a day can significantly reduce your risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

DC (Duck-chul) Lee, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of kinesiology at Iowa State, says runners were 45 percent less likely to die from heart disease or stroke than non-runners. Researchers followed more than 55,000 adults for 15 years to gauge the benefits of running. Lee says runners reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease regardless of distance, duration and speed.

“Most people say they don’t have time to exercise or to increase their physical activity, but I think most everyone can find five to 10 minutes per day to run for the health benefits,” Lee said. “I hope more people will be motivated by this study and hope that they can start running and continue to run.”

Lee talks more about the benefits of running in the video above. Researchers from the University of South Carolina, the John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute in New Orleans, and Louisiana State University were part of the study.